1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin-film transistor (TFT) display panel and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly to a TFT display panel having improved electrical properties that can be fabricated in a reduced time and a method of fabricating the TFT display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are one of the most widely used flat panel displays (FPDs). An LCD includes two substrates having electrodes formed thereon and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two substrates. The LCD applies voltages to the electrodes to rearrange liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer and thus control the amount of light that passes through the liquid crystal layer.
With the soaring demand for LCDs, and in particular higher-quality LCDs, a lot of research is being conducted to develop LCDs with improved current and light tolerance. Oxide TFT display panels using oxide semiconductors as active layer patterns have high mobility, light insensitivity, and low-temperature deposition properties. Due to these properties, oxide TFT display panels are increasingly used in LCDs.
An oxide TFT display panel includes oxide active layer patterns made of an oxide semiconductor, a passivation layer disposed on the oxide active layer patterns, and a gate insulating film disposed under the oxide active layer patterns.
If the passivation layer or the gate insulating film contains hydrogen atoms, the hydrogen atoms may move to the oxide active layer patterns so as to react with the oxide active layer patterns. Accordingly, the oxide active layer patterns may become conductive, rendering the oxide TFT display panel unable to perform its function.
To prevent this problem, a method of forming a passivation layer as an oxide layer or a double layer including an oxide and a nitride is being researched. A problem with forming a passivation layer as an oxide layer is that oxide layer is difficult to etch. In addition, since oxides have a low deposition rate, forming the passivation layer takes longer when the passivation layer is made of an oxide. Furthermore, the uniformity of drain-source current for a gate voltage can be compromised. When the passivation layer is formed as a double layer including an oxide and a nitride, the time required to form the passivation layer and the difficulty of forming the passivation layer may be increased.